President to consult all parties before making any move
Syed Firdaus Ashraf in Bombay
President K R Narayanan today assured an Opposition delegation that he will consult all parties before he taking a decision on the present political crisis.
The five-party delegation was led by former prime minister and leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The meeting lasted about 40 minutes, and was attended by the Shiv Sena's Madhukar Sarpotdar, the Akali Dal's Surjit Singh Barnala, the Haryana Vikas Party's Surendra Singh, the Samata Party's George Fernandes and BJP president Lal Kishinchand Advani.
Fernandes told Rediff On The NeT, "We told the President that he should consult us before dissolving the House or taking any other step. The President agreed with our viewpoint."
Asked whether the BJP had informed the President that they would like to form the next government, Fernandes said, ''The BJP never came up with the suggestion. However, I said that, in case the President decides to dissolve the House, then the leader of the Opposition should be given a chance to form the government.''
Barnala told the President that a stable government should be formed to end the present crisis.
Recalling that 50-odd first-time MPs yesterday had urged the President not to dissolve the House, Barnala said, ''They informed the President that the country could not afford another election."
Sarpotdar said that MPs should be allowed to cross over to other parties without slapping on them provisions of the anti-defection law.
Asked if the BJP was planning to repeat its actions in Uttar Pradesh -- where a breakaway Congress group had joined the BJP, enabling it to survive a vote of confidence in the state assembly -- in Delhi, Sarpotdar said, "It is a very hypothetical question and there is no such move."
Asked whether the Sena would support the BJP if it secured the support of Congress leaders like Sharad Pawar and Suresh Kalmadi, Sarpotdar said, "Our leader Balasaheb Thackeray is against any kind of coalition with Pawar or Kalmadi. We will walk out of the alliance if the BJP joins hands with Pawar."
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